This invention relates to a blade for rotary lawnmowers and the like.
Rotary lawnmowers, in which a blade revolves at high speed about a vertical axis, have been used for many years. More recently this blade arrangement has been widely used in hovering lawnmowers, in which the mower is supported by a downdraught of air instead of being mounted on wheels. Such mowers are easy to maintain and convenient to use, and have proved very popular. However the growth in their use has been accompanied by numerous accidents in which, for example, the blade has cut into the operator's foot or, if the mower is electrically powered, its power cable, when the mower has been carelessly used.
Accidents such as these have led to several attempts to develop a safer cutting system for rotary lawnmowers, by replacing the standard substantially rigid metal blade with a blade whose edges will not so readily cut through obstacles such as shoes or cables. However these safety blades have until now been unable to match the standard blade for its combination of wear resistance, cutting efficiency, simplicity and ease of manufacture.
Therefore an object of this invention is to provide a safety blade for a rotary lawnmower which can replace, or be supplied instead of, a standard blade without seriously detracting from the mower's performance and ease of use.